Issue 250 • September/October 2008

Welcome

Dance of Diversity • Satish Kumar

Let us celebrate and embrace the wisdom of traditional culture.

Context

Declaration of Dignity • Jerry Mander

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Cultural Vitality • Luisa Maffi

The concept of biocultural diversity.

Restoring Resilience • Gary J Martin

Maintaining diversity is an act of supreme collective intelligence.

Sacred Creation • Laura Rival

Reflecting on the pioneering work of Darrell Posey.

Quotes

Grandmothers and Grandfathers • Imelda Perley

"We are trying to save the knowledge…" • Bepkororoti Paiakan

"What is Life?…" • Chief Isapwo Muksika Crowfoot

Beauty Like Happiness, Occurs Frequently • Jorges Luis Borges

Keynotes

Development - Stations of Life • Hugh Brody

There is a profound connection between the loss of cultural diversity and extremes of inequality.

Interview

Faithkeeper • Barry Lopez

An interview with the wisdom-carrier Oren Lyons.

Biocultural Diversity

A Word of Difference • Maurice Carder

There is much in common between biological and linguistic diversity.

Defenders of Diversity • Ashish Kothari & Neema Pathak

Many of the world's most biodiverse areas remain so thanks to the sustaining lifestyles of Indigenous people.

Guides and Gatherers • Ken Wilson

A beautiful example of co-evolution between humans and birds.

Fate of the Forests • Ghillean Prance

Where there are Indigenous peoples, there are healthy, verdant forests.

Sites of Significance • Martin Palmer

Preservation of the Earth is a way of discovering meaning in our lives.

Beauty and the Beast • Janis B Alcorn

Conservation agencies must love the communities who live on the land they want to protect, as much as they love the land itself.

Lessons of the Birch • Nancy J Turner

Vital skills of resilience and adaptation are held within indigenous communities worldwide.

The Law of the Mother • Juan Mayr Maldonado

The time has come to value other cultures and respect the sanctity of life.

Exit Exploitation • Daniel Bellow

Exploring ways and means of sustaining diversity in a rapidly changing world.

Frontline

A Cup of Diversity • Selena Ahmed

Learning from the farmers of the forest tea-gardens.

Cultural Capital • Emil Friend

Stories and songs are backbones of community empowerment.

Horse Power • Emil Friend

When fossil power runs out we may have to return to horse power.

Seed Stewards • Emil Friend

Seeds harbour stories, histories and hopes.

Aboriginal Empowerment • Emil Friend

Saving endangered languages.

Food Traditions • Emil Friend

Celebrating native biodiverse foods in the African Rift Valley.

Undercurrents

Is The World Becoming Flat Again? • Nayantara Sahgal

Diversity of thoughts, speech, literature and the arts in under attack.

Tongues in Trees • Richard Mabey

Diversity is like language: it is alive and constantly changing.

Of Moulds and Men • Gary Paul Nabhan

Biodiversity is not just "out there" it is here, on our plates.

Surrounded by Solutions • Tewolde B. G. Egziabher

The answers to our ecological crisis lie in the bounty of Nature.

Regulars

Pioneers - Vanya Orr • James Graham

Vanya Orr has dedicated her life to the service of tribes living in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India.

Short Story - What Gets Lost • Gregory Norminton

Sometimes a story would be told over many nights.

The Long View - Daily Diminishing • Harry Eyres

The Tao Te Ching is a deeply ecological source of wisdom.

Deep Spirit - Your Many Selves • Thomas Moore

Recognise the diversity within yourself and you will begin to see it in others.

Recipes - Pumpkins • Daphne Lambert

The varieties of pumpkin are as diverse as the people who eat them.

Letters to the Editors - Earth Pilgrim

Members' Page • Tracey Benton

Resurgence Slow Sunday.

Reviews

Hegemony or Harmony? • Mark Dowie

Conservation Refugees: A Conflict of Nature.

A Fresh Perspective • Christopher Lloyd

What on Earth Happened? The Complete Story of the Planet, Life and People from the Big Bang to the Present Day.

From Immigrant to Citizen • Marco Visscher

The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization.

Green is the new 'Red, White and Blue' • Peter Ainsworth

A Contract with the Earth.

Web Exclusives

Article - Nature and Culture • Jules Pretty & Sarah Pilgrim

The importance of cultural protection is only just emerging.

Article - How Are We Doing? • David Rapport

Finding ways in which humans can live in harmony with Nature.

Article - Bioculturalism, Shamanism & Economics • Sian Sullivan

Bioculturalism not only connects Nature and culture, it also implies an animating relationship.

Article - Indigenous Integrity • Dennis Martinez

In the context of global warming, native wisdom and knowledge will be required to adapt to the changing environment.

Article - The Right to Choose • Patrick Cunningham

Indigenous cultures are not fossilised in time: they continue to evolve.

Article - People's Video • Nick Lunch

Preserving biocultural diversity through participatory video.

Article - Indigenous Research • Gary Martin

The Biocultural Diversity Learning Network.

Article - Beyond Words • Sophie Poklewski Koziell

Communicating with the Kalahari Bushmen through touch.

Review - The Future's in our Arms • Caroline Walker

Child Honoring: How to Turn This World Around

Review - Spirit of Place • Mary Tasker

Place-Based Education in the Global Age

Review - On the Trail of the Dalai Lama • Swati Chopra

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

Review - Turn the Lights off for the Penguins • Rebecca Mørch

Who Will Save Us?

Review - Re-route our Roots • Jenny Quillien

Delight’s Muse: On Christopher Alexander’s The Nature of Order

Review - God of the Closing Gaps • David Gosling

Science and the Indian Tradition: when Einstein met Tagore

Review - Books In Brief • Juliette Griffiths, Marian Van Eyk McCain, Lynn Batten & Richard St. George

Books in Brief

Satish’s Blog - To Be An Earth Pilgrim • Satish Kumar